Page 64 of the programme for Government outlines a guarantee to deliver high speed broadband to every home and business in the country by 2022. The document indicated that the Government would sign a contract by June 2017. We know that did not happen for various reasons. Does the Taoiseach still stand over the commitment given in the programme for Government to deliver high-speed broadband to every home and premises in the country by 2022?

On the same issue, I call Deputy Scanlon.

Broadband is being rolled out at present. There is a situation in my county where the broadband is 200 m away from a high-tech tool-making factory employing 18 and doing business in China and all over the world. There is also a riding school just up the road from it. Those businesses should be targeted and they should be given the broadband. They are in the amber area. The company applied to Eir for an order number so that it can provide its premises with broadband but Eir will not give it a number and the work cannot be done. There are many jobs at stake here.

First, it is important to distinguish between two elements. On the commercial broadband delivery front, we have dramatically expanded the availability. It has gone, even since this Government's creation, from 50% up to 75%. That is entirely commercial. Those commercial outreaches still leave amber areas quite close to what is being delivered commercially but they remain the subject of the question of Deputy Dooley, which is the national broadband plan which is to deliver in the amber regions to more than 500,000 premises, both business and residential.

A final tender, after a lengthy process, has been delivered to the Department in mid-September. The evaluation of that is ongoing. As the Taoiseach referred to earlier, there is also an audit by Mr. Peter Smyth on the process. Both of those processes are at an advanced stage. We are close to a point where it will be possible to bring to Government proposals for decision one way or the other.